Life is but a Dream
by JesusOtakuFreak
Summary: One spoonful of gunk. A boat full of singing skeletons. Some people who take tennis WAY too seriously. And a poor, sick girl who just wanted some chicken noodle soup. Also, full summary inside. OC-centric.
1. The Soup

**Disclaimer: I do not own PoT or its characters. Everything else is mine.**

**Full summary: While her friends enjoyed their summer vacation, Ginger Ro was stuck at home with the flu. Ginger's best friend makes for her a soup that was guaranteed to cure her. Oh, it cured her alright, as well as give her some interesting dreams….**

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><p>"Do you need anything, sweetie?" Mom asked, smiling softly down at me.<p>

I was in bed, dressed in my Care Bear pajamas and wrapped warmly in my Prince of Tennis comforter with a raging fever. I've had it for a good three days with today marking the fourth, and it didn't seem like the fever was letting up in the slightest.

"Yes, some chicken noodle soup, please," I mumbled.

"Okay, one chicken noodle soup coming right up," Mom said, patting my shoulder and leaving the room.

I felt an oncoming sneeze and snatched a tissue from the tissue box on my bedside table. "A-a-_achoo_!" I sneezed into the tissue, sniffling. I threw the tissue into the already huge pile of tissues beside my bed. _Ugh, this is the worst!_ I groaned internally, feeling another sneeze coming on. I grabbed another tissue from the box and pressed it against my nose. "A-a-a-a…!" The tickling sensation in my nose passed, and I sniffled, causing the sensation to return. _"Achoo!"_ I sneezed.

I glared at the window across my room where the sun's afternoon rays streamed through, brightening the dim room. School had let out for summer vacation last week and, instead of celebrating and having fun with my friends, I had been stuck in the house for a week with the stupid flu, and it didn't seem to be letting up anytime soon. I coughed violently, groaning loudly at my worsening headache. A light knock sounded at the door, and I looked over to see my best friend, Kia Sumner, standing at the door. She held a small Tupperware container filled with green liquid along with a white plastic spoon and a small water bottle.

Kia was a medium-sized girl and average in height. She had short, black hair that stopped just below her chin with a small yellow bow hair clipped on the upper right side of her hair. She had round expressive green eyes that boldly stood out against her pale skin. Kia entered the room, grinning widely and showing off her perfect pearly whites she had gotten from wearing braces for two years.

"Sup, friend," Kia greeted. She saw the huge pile of tissues and whistled. "I see someone isn't feeling any better."

I coughed, causing Kia to take a huge step back. "Not even a little bit," I replied, groaning.

"Awesome!" Kia squealed.

"Excuse me?"

"It means I get to try this out!" Kia said, pointing at the container.

"And what, exactly, is that?" I asked warily.

"It's Grandma's Super Ultra Special Outta this World Lucky Love Gunky Soup," Kia replied in one breath.

"Super Special…?"

"Super _Ultra_ Special Outta this World—"

"Okay, I got it!" I interrupted, wincing at my throbbing headache. "I'm not eating that. It looks gross."

"You're not supposed to _eat_ it. You drink it," Kia corrected.

"Same difference," I said.

"No, seriously, this will be good for you," Kia insisted. "Whenever I'm sick, Grandma always makes this stuff for me, and it works every time! You've been stuck in the house for four days because of the flu. I know you're going bat crazy."

"You're not wrong about that, but there's no way I can eat something that's called gunk," I said, wrinkling my nose. "It looks gunky."

"That's the point, weirdo," Kia said.

"Oh, _I'm_ the weirdo? Says the girl who believes some gunk actually heals her."

"It does! Won't you at least try a spoonful?" Kia pleaded. "Come on, I miss hanging out with my best friend," she pouted.

"Quit being dramatic; it's only been a week," I said, rolling my eyes. Kia stared at me with a pouting expression, her bottom lip trembling and eyes glistening with unshed tears. "Kia, it's really not that serious! I'll be fine in a few more days. Surely, you can wait a few more days."

"Yeah, but I'd like for us to hang out sooner! Come on, just one spoonful!" Kia begged.

"No, I already asked Mom to make me some chicken noodle soup," I told her.

"Just one spoonful!"

"Get that stuff away from me!"

"Come on, it'll cure you, I promise!"

"Kia, no! Kia, stop—!"

Kia shoved a generous heaping of the gunky love soup into my mouth and, before I could gag, she crammed the water bottle down my throat.

"You'll thank me later, I promise!" Kia assured.

I smacked the bottle from her hand, and it spilled to the floor, soaking the carpet. I shot Kia the most vicious glare I could muster.

"Kia, you—" I stopped talking, my face turning green. _"Ugh!"_ I cried, launching out of bed and kneeling at my small trash basket, heaving the disgusting gunk out of my mouth.

I couldn't describe the flavor, I really couldn't. I had never tasted anything so utterly revolting. When Kia said the gunk was out of this world, she was not kidding.

"How are you feeling?" Kia asked.

I stopped retching, slightly turning to my best friend and shot her a withering glare. "What do you think?" I snapped. "I feel—glub." I turned back around and heaved.

"Ginger? Ginger are you alright?" I heard Mom's frantic voice. A few seconds later, she rushed inside and saw me emptying my stomach contents into the trash bin, and her eyes widened. "Ginger!" Mom cried, rushing to my side and kneeling beside me, placing a gentle hand on my back.

I weakly waved her away and shook my head. "It's okay, Mom. I—oogh." I heaved again.

"Oh, dear, we should get you to a hospital! You're getting worst!" Mom exclaimed, rubbing my back.

"It's nothing for you to worry about, Mrs. Ro," Kia said. "Ginger tried some of my Grandma's Super Ultra Special Outta this World Lucky Love Gunky Soup," she explained, pointing at the open container.

Mom stared at Kia disbelievingly. "Super Special…?"

"Super _Ultra_ Special Outta this World—"

"I don't care what it's called, Kia," Mom snapped, standing to her feet and glaring at the girl. "That soup of yours is making Ginger sicker!"

"No, it's not," Kia protested. "Her throwing up means that the soup is working. Trust me, I've tried the soup a million times, and it's worked each time," Kia assured.

"I don't care. I don't know what's in that stuff and, clearly, it's not good for Ginger if she's throwing up!"

As the two argued, my vision started getting blurry and my hearing grew dim.

"Mom… Kia…." I tried speaking, but the words either fell on deaf ears, or I didn't make a sound at all. Soon, I couldn't see at all as I fell forward, quickly losing consciousness.


	2. The Singing Skeletons

**Disclaimer: I do now own PoT or its characters. Everything else is mine.**

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><p>"Mom…. Kia…." I muttered, my eyes still closed.<p>

I knew I had fallen forward but, instead of feeling my soft, fuzzy carpet, the ground felt coarse and scraggly. My eyes fluttered open, and I saw that I was no longer in my room. I gasped sharply, sitting straight up and examining my surroundings. It was nightfall, and it seemed like I was in a forest. The place was cold and eerie. Tall trees, stripped of their leaves, surrounded me and towered over me, appearing like evil tree monsters wanting to suck out my soul. Okay, so maybe that was a bit dramatic, but could you blame me? How in the frikkin' world did I end up from my bedroom in some creepy, dark forest?! A white, thick mist blanketed the ground, adding to the creepiness. Another thing I noticed, I was still in my Care Bear pajamas.

"This is so weird," I muttered, touching the silk pajamas. What was even weirder was the fact that my fever was gone. I could breathe! I inhaled deeply, smelling the earthy air and exhaled happily. "I can really breathe!" So, Kia's Stupid Quirky Disgusting Unlucky Love Gunky Soup actually worked? _Did it also transport me to some weird world, too?_ I wondered. "Hello?" I called out, standing to my feet and walking through the forest.

For a forest, it sure was pretty quiet. There were no hooting owls, no noisy crickets, no nothing except the sound of my pink bunny slippers, shuffling across the twig and leaves covered ground. It added to the eeriness. Maybe I was dreaming? If so, this was the most lucid dream I had ever had, as well as the realest. I shivered when a cool breeze blew against me. The silk pajamas provided very little protection against the cool temperature, which was weird because I was dreaming, right? I shouldn't be feeling anything, right?

"Hello?" I called out again and sighed.

Just who was I calling out to? I was pretty sure I wouldn't want to meet anyone in this ghoulish place.

_"Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream…."_

_"Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily…."_

_"Life is but a dream…."_

I stopped in my tracks, the soft voices floating my way, and yet, they sounded like they were drifting away from me.

"Hello?" I called out, fear sneaking into my voice.

_"Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream…."_

_"Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily…."_

_"Life is but a dream…."_

The voices were definitely moving away from me. "Hey!" I cried, rushing forward. "Hey, excuse me!"

Eventually, I emerged from the forest and came upon a large river that looked much creepier than the forest, which I didn't think was possible. The mist had gotten a lot thicker, so much so that I could barely see five feet in front of me.

_"Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream…."_

_"Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily…."_

_"Life is but a dream…."_

I looked to the right and saw a black silhouette of a small boat with three figures in it against the white, misty background. Two were rowing while the other stood at the front.

"Hello!" I cried, running up to the edge of the river and waving franticly at the boat. "Hello!"

"Hello!" one voice sang deeply.

"Hello!" another sang in alto.

"Hello!" the last one shouted in a high-pitched tone.

_"Hello!"_ all three belted in harmony.

I blinked, immediately regretting my actions. The boat floated toward me, and I debated if I should stay or run. Soon, the boat came into view, and I screamed at the top of my lungs, backpedaling and slipping on the dewy ground. Three gray skeletons stood in the boat, each one having colorful gems for eyes.

"What is the matter, miss?" the skeleton with ruby eyes asked, no _sang_, in a soprano tone.

"Are you lost, miss?" the skeleton with jade eyes also sang in alto.

"Would you like some help, miss?" the last skeleton with sapphire eyes sang deeply.

I just gawked, unable to move or speak. Was I really seeing things? Three singing skeletons, surely this must be a dream, right?

"Would you like to go home, miss?" Ruby-eyes asked.

I blinked, the question snapping me back to my senses. "Home?" I squeaked.

"Yes," Jade-eyes spoke. "The only way to get home is by boat, miss."

"Would you like for us to take you, miss?" Sapphire-eyes asked.

"We'd be happy to take you, miss," Ruby-eyes offered.

Ugh, the singing was really grating my already frazzled nerves. I stared at the skeletons warily as I stood to my feet.

"Um, sure, I guess," I said.

"Then, please, get in, miss," Ruby-eyes said, stepping back.

Jade and Sapphire held the oars and grinned expectedly at me.

_They're skeletons, of course they're grinning. All they can do is grin,_ I thought, shaking as I climbed inside the boat. "Just how far is… home?" I asked the ruby eyed skeleton as the other two began to row.

"Close," Ruby-eyes answered.

"Close?" I repeated.

"Close," Sapphire-eyes hummed deeply.

"Close," Jade-eyes chimed in alto.

"Close," Ruby-eyes sang.

_"Close!"_ all three shouted harmoniously.

"Okay, I got it!" I snapped, covering my ears.

The skeletons fell silent, the sound of the water lapping against the boat.

"Bum, bum, bum, bum, bum," Ruby-eyes started.

"Ooooh," Jade-eyes chimed, rocking gently side to side.

_"Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream…."_ Sapphire-eyes lowly sang.

_"Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily," _Jade-eyes joined.

_"Life is but a dream…."_ Ruby-eyes finished.

_"Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream…."_

_"Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily…."_

_"Life is but a dream…."_

"Come on, guys, must you really sing?" I groaned.

_"Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream…."_

_"Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily…."_

_"Life is but a dream…."_

"Guys," I said, irritated, and whirled around to glare at them. "Could you stop with the singing? It's super annoying."

But the skeletons were not listening to me. It was as if they forgot I was there. I opened my mouth to speak when I heard what sounded like a roar behind me. It didn't sound animal, but it was terrifying all the same. I whirled around, but I couldn't see anything because of the stupid mist. The roar increased in intensity as we drifted near, and the sound was so achingly familiar that it was really ticking me off that I couldn't identify what it was.

_Where have I heard this noise from…?_ I wondered, wracking my brain.

_"Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream…."_

_"Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily…."_

"Ugh, enough already!" I snapped, turning to them and scowling. "Do you not hear that?"

The roar was now deafening.

"Yes, it is your way home, miss," Ruby-eyes answered in that same, stupid, annoying soprano voice of his.

"Home?" I said. "Don't repeat it!" I snapped, when they were about to sing. "Just tell me how—?"

"Here we go, miss!" Jade-eyes interrupted.

I turned back around and shrieked. The mist had cleared, revealing the river dipping sharply, and now I knew what that roar was.

"Whoa, whoa, what are you doing?!" I screamed. "Turn around! Turn around!"

"Don't you want to go home, miss?" Ruby-eyes asked.

"Not if it's going to get me killed!"

"It's too late, miss!" Sapphire-eyes sang.

"It's too late, miss," Ruby-eyes chimed.

"It's too late, miss," Jade-eyes repeated.

_"It's too late, miss!"_

The dream had quickly turned into a nightmare as the boat traveled sharply downward. I screamed, gripping the boat for dear life.

_It's a dream. It's a dream. It's a dream,_ I tried reminding myself, squeezing my eyes shut.

But that was starting to become harder and harder to believe as the air whipped fiercely around me and the icy spray from the waterfall practically drenched me. As the boat fell, the skeletons were singing that stupid Row Your Boat song as if we weren't plummeting to our deaths. Well, I guess they were already dead, so I could see why they were so laid back…. It felt like an eternity until the boat touchdown the bottom, spraying up a huge wall of water and knocking me out unconscious.


	3. The Bats

**Disclaimer: I do now own PoT or its characters. I only own my characters.**

**AN: I do apologize if my character ends up being a Mary Sue in this chapter (or later chapters for that matter). It's not intentional, but sometimes it is what it is.**

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><p>I gasped, sitting straight up and blinking several times.<em> H-huh?<em> I thought, noticing I was in my bed with my Prince of Tennis comforter covering my lower body. I heaved a huge sigh of relief. _Like I thought, it was all a dream_. I inhaled deeply and immediately started hacking. _Ugh, what the _freak_ is that _smell?!

The fact that I could smell and no longer felt unbearably hot or sickly was pretty astonishing. Kia's soup actually worked. But now I was starting to wish that my sense of smell was blocked again. I pinched my nose and gagged. I don't know how I didn't instantly detect the abhorrent smell. The odor was so pungent, I could literally taste it! And, boy, was that taste familiar. My stomach lurched, and I jumped out of bed, my left foot landing in some sticky green goo.

"Ew!" I shrieked, jumping back and plopping on the bed. I held my breath as I lifted my soiled foot and examined the gunky green goo I recognized as Kia's infamous gunky soup. _Well, that answers that question,_ I thought, referring to the origin of the stench. I looked down to see the mini mountain of tissues I remembered discarding beside my bed as well as the small Tupperware containing the cursed gunky soup, its contents spilled onto the brown carpet._ Well, that's going to stain,_ I thought, grimacing.

I reached over to the bedside table and grabbed several tissues from the box and wiped the nasty goo off my sole, discarding the tissue in the trash. If I didn't open the window, I was sure to pass out and meet those stupid singing skeletons again. Careful not to step in the goo, I bounded across the room and shoved open the window, thrusting my head out and drinking in large gulps of warm air. The sun burned brightly in the clear, blue sky, and the trees danced lightly in the pleasant breeze. Geez, it felt like forever since I felt the sun's warm rays on my skin.

I exhaled happily, pulling my head back in. The smell was almost tolerable… almost. My stomach lurched again as I went for the door when something crackled beneath my foot, and I looked down, lifting my foot to see an empty small water bottle. I picked it up, irritation spiking through me as I remembered Kia forcing me to ingest that disgusting, atrocious, downright awful excuse of a soup. Although I was feeling awesome and cured, I refused to let Kia off so easily.

_Speaking of which, where are Mom and Kia?_ I wondered. Before I blacked out, I remembered the two were arguing. I opened the door and screamed, stumbling backwards. Instead of seeing the hallway, I saw the sky. My heart rate skyrocketed as I crawled away from the door. _But, but how?! When I looked out the window, I saw trees and roads and houses! How am I in the air?!_ Unless…. "I'm still dreaming!" I groaned, tilting my head upward. "So much for going home!" I shouted at no one. I glared at the spilled gunky soup and scowled. "Stupid... soup!" I cried, grabbing the container and heaving it out the door. Once I did that, the room shook violently, throwing me forward. "Whoa!" I screamed, unable to stop myself from falling forward. _"Ah!"_ I screamed, hurling out of my room and into the sky.

I reached out and grabbed the ledge, holding on for dear life. You know, for a dream, everything felt so frikkin' _real_. The danger, the fear—it was all so tangible. I looked down, involuntarily shrieking. My room was a thousand feet in the air above the ocean! I kicked and struggled to lift myself back into the safety of my room, but it seemed the more I struggled, the more the room tilted downward.

"No, stop!" I pleaded. But it was no use. The room tilted down completely, causing me to lose my grip and plummet toward the waiting water below. _"You've got to be kidding meeee!"_ I hollered, flapping my arms and hoping that I could dream myself to sprout wings and fly. But that wasn't happening, and I gave up since I was tiring myself out, which again made no sense since this was a dream!_ Hey, wait a second, this can actually be a good thing! This fall will probably jolt me awake!_

With that possibility in mind, I quelled my screams and waited for the inevitable. I braced myself for the pain since, apparently, I could actually feel in these dreams. It felt like an eternity, but, finally, I crash landed into the ocean. The impact wasn't painful at all (thank God), and the water was surprisingly warm. I opened my eyes, having closing them on impact. The water was so clear, it almost didn't look like water. I was so fascinated by the beautiful sea world, it took me a full minute to realize I was breathing underwater.

_This is cool and all,_ I thought, watching as some fish swam by me, _but I really thought the crash would jolt me awake,_ I thought, disappointed. At that same moment, an enormous school of black and yellow striped fish glided toward me. _Whoa, that's a lot of fish!_ I thought in wonder, gaping.

Several of the fish raced past me while others swam around me. Soon, all I could see was black and yellow as the fish encircled me. Fear struck my heart as I watched the fish form an even tighter circle around me. I couldn't even cry out as the fish completely engulfed me, blacking out my world.

"Wah!" I shouted, sitting up and breathing heavily.

I found myself in complete darkness, which sucked because I was absolutely terrified of the dark. I moved my hand along the ground, feeling that it was rocky and hard. I sighed wearily and stood to my feet, dusting off my pajamas (yes, I was still in my pajamas).

_Now, where am I?_ I wondered, annoyance flashing through me.

And just how long will this stupid dream last? I swear, when I wake up, I _will_ pay Kia back. Did that gunky soup put me in a coma or something? Just what will it take for me to wake up? My eyes had adjusted to the darkness somewhat, and I could tell I was in a cave. However, I couldn't tell if I was walking deeper into the cave or walking toward sweet freedom, but I did know that just standing, petrified, wasn't going to help me in the slightest. After what seemed like forever, I heard voices coming from up ahead and stopped.

_Hm?_ I thought, perking my ears and listened more intently. The voices were speaking a foreign language, one that I immediately identified. _Hey, that's Japanese,_ I thought.

I was an avid anime fan and would binge watch one anime after another, usually watching it in Japanese. My current obsession was Prince of Tennis. I finished watching the series three weeks ago (including the OVAs and movies). It was a pretty entertaining anime. I loved the over-the-top impossible moves they would execute, and would even, sometimes, forget that they were playing tennis what with all the superhuman abilities and all.

As I neared the voices, a faint orange glow appeared around the round corner, dimly lighting the cave. I leaned against the coarse wall and peeked around the corner, stifling a gasp when I saw who the voices belonged to. Echizen Ryoma, Oshitari Kenya and Tanishi Kei, three characters from Prince of Tennis were standing around a medium sized rock with Kenya holding a torch and Ryoma holding a piece of paper and reading from it. All three boys were wearing white shirts and shorts, and, even in the dim lighting, I could tell the outfits were thoroughly soiled.

_I can't believe it! Ryoma-sama, Kenya-sama!_ I mentally squealed before shaking my head and lightly slapping my cheeks. _Get a hold of yourself! Remember, this is a dream. It's only natural that you'll see Prince of Tennis characters because of your obsession._ I sighed, glancing at the high ceiling. _So, what should I do? Should I talk to them? Why not, right? They could probably help me out of this creepy place. Besides, it's not everyday I get to meet some of my favorite anime characters, even if it is a dream._ I was so deep in thought that I didn't hear the _squeak squeak_ of the fat, black rat creeping behind me. _Okay, it's decided, I'll—_

I froze, feeling something soft brush against the back of my right leg and slowly craned my neck around and looked down to see the ugliest, fattest and blackest rat I had ever seen in my entire life. The thing was _huge!_ It was about the size of a puppy. It stood on its hind legs and cocked its head, its blood red eyes peering curiously at me. That was when I lost it. I let out the bloodiest toe curling scream I could muster and bolted away from the rodent.

_Ew!_ _Ew! Ew! Ew! Ew!_ I fretted. _It _touched _me! It freaking _touched _me!_

I could still feel the rat's disgusting, disease-ridden furry body brushing my leg, and I shook violently.

"Who are you?" a voice asked in Japanese, catching my attention.

_Ah, that's right!_ I thought, looking over at Ryoma, Kenya and Tanishi, who stared back at me with wide, surprised eyes. "Uh, hello there," I said, waving and stopped, a surprised expression on my face.

Did I just speak Japanese? And did I just understand it, too?

"Hey, hey, who are you and just how did you get here?" Kenya demanded.

Before I could respond, Tanishi cut in. "Oi, Oshitari, you shouldn't speak to a girl like that!" Tanishi turned to me and smiled warmly at me, which sort of creeped me out. "Don't mind the idiot over there and his rudeness. He's pretty clueless at these sort of things."

"Hey, what was that?!" Kenya shouted angrily, moving past Ryoma and jabbing a finger at Tanishi's chest. "You want to say that again, tubby?!"

A giant anger mark appeared on Tanishi's forehead and he scowled. "Tubby?! You—"

"Tanishi-san, Kenya-san, we don't really have time for this," Ryoma interrupted, sighing in annoyance. He glanced over at me and stared at me for a long moment before asking, "What's with the pajamas?"

Ack! That's right, I was still wearing my Care Bear pajamas! My face flushed red as I stuttered out my response.

"Um, er, yes I-I'm wearing pajamas because I… was… sleepwalking…?" I answered uncertainly. "Yeah, that's it, I sleepwalked here," I repeated more confidently.

"Sleepwalked?" All three boys repeated.

"How lucky!" Tanishi said. "A cute girl appearing in a place like this!"

I blushed at Tanishi's comment, but Kenya wasn't having it.

"You really expect us to believe you _sleepwalked_ here? There aren't any houses within miles of this place and don't even get me started on the fact that you would have to climb a freaking mountain," Kenya said, glaring suspiciously at me.

I turned my nose up and glanced sideways. "My family happens to be camping near here, and I'm more fit than I look."

"Liar!" Kenya accused, pointing a finger at me.

"How can you call me liar?! Just how else would I wind up in a place like this?!"

Kenya and I continued arguing with Tanishi joining and taking my side. Ryoma, appearing annoyed with it all, looked behind me, his hazel eyes widening slightly.

"How are you going to take a strange girl's, side, Tanishi?!" Kenya demanded.

"How rude! You don't need to call me strange, lame brain!" I snapped.

Kenya snorted. "Lame brain? Are you sure you're not the lame one for coming up with a weak insult?" I growled, lifting my foot and bringing it down on Kenya's foot, but he jumped away just in time and laughed. "Ha ha! You're gonna have to be faster than that! Not that you can be faster than—"

A bunny slipper smacked Kenya square in the face, effectively shutting him up. Kenya snatched off the slipper, several anger marks popping all over his head as he glowered at me.

"You were saying?" I said, smirking and causing Tanishi to laugh.

"Listen! Do you hear that?" Ryoma cut in, his eyes trained on the dark pathway behind me.

"Hear what?" Tanishi asked.

"Listen," Ryoma said.

I looked behind me, fear striking my heart. It wasn't more rats, was it? Faint shrieking noises floated toward us and, immediately, I hid behind Tanishi.

"W-what is that?" I asked shakily.

"It sounds like—" But Kenya didn't finish his sentence as the cave suddenly flooded with bats.

_"__Yah!"_ I screamed, thrashing about and ducking to the ground, covering my head with my hands. "Not cool! Not cool!"

"Don't worry, I'll protect you!" Tanishi declared, shielding me with his large body. He actually kept the bats at bay.

"Thank you!" I said, breathing a slight sigh of relief.

"Where did all these bats come from?!" Kenya asked.

"The letter!" Ryoma answered, dodging some bats. "This must be what Coach Mifune meant when he said the letter would self-destruct. Look!"

Ryoma pointed to where a paper was torn to pieces on the ground. At that moment, one bat zoomed toward Tanishi, biting him in the butt.

_"__Ouch!"_ Tanishi yelped, jumping a good feet in the air.

_"__Ahhh!"_ Ryoma, Kenya and I screamed along with him as the bats got more aggressive.

"Run!" Ryoma shouted, bolting down the path, entering further into the cave.

Kenya, Tanishi and I ran after him, the bats following us.

_Ugh, I've just about had it with all these stupid animals!_ I thought, shrieking and ducking low as a bat swooped toward my head.

The path led to a cliff overlooking a rushing current where smooth rocks jutted out and provided a path to the other side where another cliff stood.

"Crap, it's a dead end," Kenya muttered.

Ryoma hopped down the cliff and landed on one of the rocks, jumping onto the next rock and leaping up onto the other cliff.

"Wow, that's impressive," I muttered, gazing down at the rushing current. _But there's no way I could— _"Whoa!" I yelped when Tanishi carried me off my feet and carried me bridal style.

"Alright, here we go!" Tanishi shouted.

Before I could react, Tanishi jumped down onto one of the rocks. I shrieked, holding on tight to Tanishi's neck. Tanishi lightly blushed before crossing the rocks and springing onto the cliff beside Ryoma.

"Thank you," I said when Tanishi set me down. "You're super strong, you know that?" I knew that, and he knew that, but I wanted to tell him anyways.

Tanishi blushed lightly as he rubbed the back of his head, looking sheepish.

Ryoma nodded. "I've always thought, despite your appearance, you're pretty agile, Tanishi-san," he remarked.

Tanishi's sheepish expression gave way to irritation as he whirled on the boy. "What was that?!" he demanded angrily, and I stifled a snicker.

"Not bad, guys," Kenya muttered, then looked back, hearing the approaching bats. "I won't lose to you guys!" Kenya declared, throwing down the torch and gazing determinedly at the rushing current. "Let Naniwa's Speed Star show you how to leap rocks!" Kenya shouted, preparing to jump, but he lost his footing and tumbled into the water!

"Kenya-san!" Ryoma cried as he, Tanishi and I gaped in horror.

"Oh, no!" I cried out but then realized Kenya hadn't fallen into the water but was, in fact, running in place on it! _That's… that's impossible!_ I thought, sweatdropping.

"I might be faster than you, but my balance is terrible!" Kenya said.

"But you're running on water," Ryoma stated, which caused another huge sweatdrop to form on my head.

Tanishi got on his knees and held out a hand to Kenya. "Hurry, grab on!"

"Kenya-san, just a little more!" Ryoma encouraged.

I just watched in complete awe as Kenya actually ran closer to Tanishi's outstretched hand. He stretched out his hand towards Tanishi's, only an inch away from safety. But then he reached his limit, abruptly giving up and falling into the rushing water.

"Oshitari!" Tanishi cried.

At that same moment, the ground beneath Tanishi gave way, and he fell towards the waters. As he did so, he grabbed Ryoma's ankle, bringing him down with him. Ryoma's eyes widened in horror and his hand snapped out, grabbing mine.

"Hey, why are you grabbing _meeee__!_" I cried as Ryoma, Tanishi, and I joined Kenya in the rushing stream.

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><p><strong>AN: Some of the dialogue I got from the New Prince of Tennis episode 8 "Special Mission"<strong>


	4. The Balloon

**Disclaimer: I do now own PoT or its characters. Everything else is mine.**

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><p>"Ah, we're saved," I breathed, relieved.<p>

I was on my knees on the hard ground, cold and drenched. I looked over at the others, who were breathing pretty hard and observed my surroundings. The river had carried us outside, and it was nightfall. The moon provided enough light so that it wasn't pitch dark.

"Did everyone make it?" Kenya asked.

"Just barely," I heaved, rising shakily to my feet.

"If Cutie-san wants, I can carry her until she regains her strength?" Tanishi offered.

I blushed lightly. "Thanks, but I'm fine," I assured.

"Hey, are we…?" Ryoma trailed off, looking ahead.

We followed his gaze and saw a large building in the distance separated by the forest.

"Yeah, it is," Kenya confirmed.

"We're inside the U-17 training camp," Tanishi said.

We peeked from some bushes, seeing security men and mean-looking dogs patrolling the area.

"What is all this? Has the security always been this right?" Kenya asked. Ryoma walked away to the right, and Kenya called after him. "Echizen, you can't seriously be trying to carry out Coach Mifune's mission," Kenya said. "I'd understand if this were some kind of training, but there's no way this has anything to do with tennis."

"That's right. Why do we have to snatch that stuff for him?" Tanishi demanded.

I didn't know what they were talking about, but I did remember Coach Mifune and how… interesting the guy was. It sounded like he had these guys running some kind of errand, and a dangerous one at that….

"Yeah, but I can't stand the thought of telling Coach Mifune we couldn't do it," Ryoma said.

"I guess so," Kenya replied. "Those are Dobermans, though! They're not some common house dog!"

"Then, we'd better not get caught," Ryoma replied with a smirk.

"Then, it looks like this is where we part," I said, smiling. "We have two different things we need to accomplish."

"Eh, Cutie-san is leaving?!" Tanishi asked, disappointed and I giggled.

"Yeah, I don't want to hold you guys back from what you have to do. Later, Kenya, Ryoma and Kei and good luck!" I said, rushing in the opposite direction and disappearing in the trees.

"That girl, she knew our names?" Kenya asked, surprised.

"Yeah, that's sort of unsettling…." Ryoma remarked.

Tanishi, on the other hand, looked ecstatic. "Who cares if some cute girl happens to know our names?"

"Idiot, doesn't that turn you off?" Kenya asked.

"Not if it's a cute girl."

"That shouldn't change anything!"

"Enough," Ryoma sighed, annoyed. "We should get going," he said, turning away and running in the other direction.

"Wait up, Echizen!" Kenya called, hurrying after him with Tanishi following behind.

_This place is huge!_ I thought in admiration. _So, this is U-17 camp._

I had found the tennis courts, but the place was pretty dark. I saw floodlights but they weren't on, the moon providing the only light. I heard the distinct sound of a racket hitting a ball and glanced to my right to see…. I gasped, my eyes widening hugely. Atobe Keigo was practicing, by himself, on one of the courts, dressed in Hyotei's Academy's tennis uniform. The guy was drenched in sweat and was breathing heavily from exertion.

_Kia would have a heart attack, I'm sure, _I thought, softly giggling.

Kia was a huge fan of Atobe. Me… not so much. Even though this was a dream, it was still pretty cool to see characters from my favorite anime. I rarely had good dreams, much less vivid, lucid dreams like this one. Atobe walked over to his things that were on the back wall and grabbed a small, white towel, and his water bottle. He wiped his face and took a look swig from the bottle.

_Hmm… should I talk to him?_ I wondered. As I pondered, a blaring noise filled the air, scaring the crap out of me. _W-what?! What's that?!_ I thought, looking around. The alarm filled the entire campus. Atobe glanced up, a wondering expression on his face. _Those guys…._ I thought, an image of Ryoma, Kenya, Tanishi, flashing through my mind. _They haven't gotten themselves into trouble, have they?_

"Hey, you!" a gruff voice shouted. I looked to my right to see two security men with their Dobermans glaring at me. "How did you get in here?!"

"Eek!" I shrieked, bolting the other way.

"Stop!" the guards shouted, chasing after me.

The dogs barked viciously, gaining ground behind me.

"Change scene!" I shouted, turning my head heavenward. It would really be nice if the dream changed right about now. "Shift! Next! Go, go next dream or world or whatever, just someone help me!" I cried. I vowed to myself that if I ever woke up, I was so going to pay Kia back dearly. The incessant barking of the Dobermans made me all the more frantic. "Ah, Lord, help me!"

As if on cue, the scene shifted and I found myself running in a forest. I stopped running and bent over, leaning on my knees and sighing in relief. _Thank God that's over,_ I thought, straightening myself and looking around.

I was surrounded by tall trees (I was really getting sick of the forest scene), and it was daylight, a stark contrast to the previous scene. Hm? A large, red balloon floated behind me and I saw that it was tied around my stomach.

_What the?_ I poked the balloon and cocked my head, narrowing my eyes at it. Something squawked behind me and I whirled around to see several eagles flying my way! _Wait! Why are they coming after me?!_ I thought franticly, sprinting further into the forest. I glanced back and saw the eagles getting closer. The red balloon floated crazily behind me, jarring a memory. _That's right! I remember in New Prince of Tennis that crazy coach had the middle and high schoolers had to avoid the eagles and keep their balloons from popping! But why do _I_ have a balloon?!_

Alright, fine, if it's the balloon they wanted…. I started untying the balloon when I felt something grasp the back of my shirt and began lifting me off the ground. "H-hey!" I yelped. An eagle had picked me up and started flying upward, so I started kicking so that it could release me before it climbed too high, but it was no use. "Ah!" I screamed when the eagle broke through the trees and the distance between the ground and me was drastically increasing. I glared up at the eagle. "Release me, you stupid bird! Let me—" The eagles released me. _"—Go!"_ I screamed as I plummeted again to the earth. _"This is so not cooool!" _I cried, disappearing into the trees. "Ouch! Oof! Argh! Owie!" I howled with each painful impact against a tree trunk. "Ugh!" I grunted when I finally crashed to the ground, landing on my back. I had my eyes squeezed shut, my entire body aching in pain. But something was strange…. _That fall… it didn't hurt as much as I thought it would, _I thought, opening my eyes. _I wonder—?_

"Just how long do you plan on staying on top of me?!" someone growled below me.

I blinked and sat up, gasping when I saw that I was lying on top of someone. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" I apologized, scrambling to my feet and bowing several times. "I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!"

"Alright, alright, enough already," the guy sighed, annoyed, standing to his feet and brushing himself off. He looked up at me at the same time I looked up at him.

"Ah, it's you!" we cried simultaneously, pointing at each other.

"You've got to be kidding me," Kenya sighed. "To think I'd meet you like this…."

"I can say the same thing," I huffed, puffing my cheeks and looking sideways.

"Hey, you have a balloon, too?" Kenya pointed out, his eyes widening in surprise. "Why?"

"I don't know! I'm still figuring it out myself!" I snapped.

"What's with the rude tone?" Kenya snapped back.

"Because you annoy me."

"Listen, kid, you won't make it far with that attitude of yours! Besides… what's with the pajamas?" Kenya asked, studying my pajamas.

I blushed lightly. "Okay, first off, I'm not a kid. I'm way older than you! And second, I wear pajamas because I can," I replied, marching past him.

"Huh? Hey, where are you going?" Kenya called after me.

"I'm getting out of this place! I've had it with forests and animals and dreams!" I shouted. At that same moment, two eagles appeared from the trees and zoomed toward us. "Eek! Not again!" I cried, abruptly turning around and running toward Kenya.

"Ah, crap!" Kenya shouted, taking off and leaving behind a cloud of dust.

"Ack!" I coughed, putting a hand to my mouth. "Oh, wow, he's gone," I said. The eagle shrieked behind me, and I screamed, ducking to the ground. "Leave me alone! I'm not even part of this stupid training! Somebody, save me!" Pop! Pieces of the balloon sprinkled to the ground, and I peeked up to see the eagle flying past me and chasing after the Naniwa Speed Star. "Oh, thank God, it's over," I breathed in relief, straightening myself. _But now what do I do? This dream, will it ever end?!_ I thought despairingly.

"Grrr…." A low growl sounded behind me, causing me to freeze up.

I slowly craned my neck around to see a pair of blood red eyes peering back at me deep within the woods. I stood frozen on the spot as the creature continued growling.

_Please don't be a bear. Dear God, I beg You, don't let it be a bear. Anything but a—"BEAR!" _I screamed, tears spilling out of my eyes as I whirled around and tore down the pathway as a gigantic black bear rumbled out of the woods, charging toward me!

_"_RAWR!" __

"Change scene! Change dream! Just change already!" I shouted. "Wah!" I tripped on a rock and tumbled down a small hill. "This. Is. Getting. So. Old!" I grunted with each painful roll before finally coming to a rest at the bottom of the hill and blacking out.

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><p><strong>AN: Some of the dialogue I got from the New Prince of Tennis episode 8 "Special Mission"<strong>


	5. The End

**I wanted to add one more chapter, but I got bored with this story so, this is the last chapter! Thanks for reading :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PoT or its characters. Everything else is mine.**

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><p>"Maybe that cursed soup of yours works for you, but that does <em>not<em> mean it would work on others!" Mom spat.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Ro! I just wanted Ginger to hurry and get well." Kia sounded so apologetic, it sounded like she was crying.

_That's Mom and Kia!_ I thought. _But is this still a dream?_

Lord knew I just about had it with all this dream hopping. I just wanted to wake up already. All I could see was complete darkness, but Mom's and Kia's voices were clear as crystal.

"I understand that Kia, and I appreciate it, but there is no 'cure' for the flu! It's a virus, so you have to let the sickness run its course," Mom said.

"But it always worked for me…."

"And I'm telling you what works for you doesn't mean it will work for someone else!" Mom snapped.

Slowly, but surely, I was regaining my senses. I could feel the softness of my bed beneath my palms and the warmth provided by my comforter. I could also smell the all familiar repugnant odor belonging to the atrocious gunky soup. My eyes flew open, and I sat up, hacking.

"Ugh!" I wheezed.

"Ginger, you're alive!" Kia squealed, wrapping me in a tight hug.

"Yeah, I am," I spoke, patting my friend's back. "But I won't be for long if you don't stop squeezing me so tight!"

"Oh, sorry!" Kia apologized, immediately releasing me. She stepped back, an apologetic smile widely displayed on her face. "I was so worried when you collapsed so suddenly!"

"Yes, and all thanks to that poisonous soup of yours," Mom growled. She pushed Kia aside so she could examine me better. Her wide, brown eyes studied my face, and she grasped my cheeks with both hands and tilted my head in all directions for inspection. "How are you feeling? Nauseous? Confused? Hot? Cold?"

"Mom! Mom! _Mom_!" I shouted, pulling away from the frantic woman. "I'm _fine._ In fact, I'm more than fine. I'm cured!" I announced, grinning.

Mom blinked, retracting her hands as if she'd been burned. "_Cured_?"

"Cured?! Really?!" Kia asked, her eyes shining excitedly.

"Well, not completely cured; I still feel crappy. But I can breathe again! And my headache's gone."

"So, you really do feel better?" Mom asked, doubt evident on her face and in her tone. She glanced at Kia, who was beaming. "That soup actually… _worked_?"

"Crazy, huh?" Kia said. "I understand your skepticism. I was a skeptic once, too, but without a doubt, it works!"

"Yes, well, I will still like it if you stayed in bed," Mom said, holding out a hand to help me up.

"Yeah, that's a good idea," I agreed.

"So, you're positive you're feeling better?" Mom asked, touching my forehead with the back of her palm.

I grinned broadly and nodded. "Much, much better."

Kia hopped up and down, squealing. "Yay! I knew it! See, I told you, Mrs. Ro," Kia said happily.

Mom frowned, still clearly pissed at my friend. "Yes, you did, but that does not mean I approve of your actions, Kia."

"Oh, Mom, go easy on Kia," I said when Kia's enthusiasm deflated from my Mom's harsh tone. "She was only trying to help me out and she did."

"No, your Mom has every right to be mad at me," Kia said. She smiled apologetically at me. "You also have every right to be mad at me since I forced you to drink the stuff."

"Don't worry about it; I already have my revenge all planned out," I replied, smirking.

"What?! Wait, why? You're cured, right? Why do you need revenge?" Kia asked.

I didn't want to tell her of my dream experience, at least not with Mom in the room, so I simply shrugged.

"Because even though I'm cured, you still forced me to eat that nasty stuff, so I will get my revenge for that."

"Awww man…."

Mom chuckled, her face softening for the first time. She patted my leg and stared down at me lovingly. "Do you still want some of that chicken noodle soup?" she asked.

"Yes, please!" I answered giddily.

"Ooh, can I have some, too?" Kia asked.

I expected Mom to refuse Kia, but she actually beamed at my friend. "Of course, dear. I'll go get it started. Do you need anything else like water?" Mom asked. I shook my head no, and Mom nodded, leaving out the room.

Kia exhaled loudly, plopping on the bed and staring at me with a tired expression. "Your mother is so scary," she stated.

"Could you blame her?" I replied, giggling.

Kia giggled back, shaking her head. "But I was right! The soup cured you. You're no longer sick."

"This is true, but Kia do I have a story to tell you…."

I told Kia of my dreams: the ghoulish skeletons, the fact my senses were intact, and the seemingly never ending hopping from one dream to another.

"Whoa, that's so cool! You saw the skeletons, too?"

"Eh?"

"Yeah, the three skeletons with gems for eyes, I see them every time I eat the soup."

"Really? Do you dream hop, too?"

"Heck yeah! I, uh, should have warned you about that. The soup comes with some side effects," Kia said, smiling sheepishly while rubbing the back of her head.

"Side effect_s_?" I emphasized the 's,' staring at Kia in dismay.

"They're not bad! It's just vividly weird dreams, sour after taste for a few days, and a tickling sensation in the pit of your stomach that'll go away in the next few hours," Kia listed.

"Those don't sound bad at all. Well, except the after taste thing," I muttered.

"Well, now that you're feeling all better we can see that movie I've been dying to see!" Kia said, clapping happily. "My treat!"

"Oh, then I certainly can't refuse, can I? I'm in," I said smiling.

So, it would seem there was some power in Kia's Grandma's Super Ultra Special Outta this World Lucky Love Gunky Soup because the very next day, I was finally enjoying the sweltering heat of the summer sun's rays with my best friend.

**End**


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